Ovarian Cancer Malpractice

Ovarian Cancer Malpractice

Ovarian cancer, much like breast cancer can be presented with similar abdominal pain, along with some discomfort, including in most cases, back pain, abdominal swelling and bloating as well. It is frequently associated with frequent urination and sometimes in worst cases, post menopausal bleeding, but in advance cases, it also renders loss of appetite and weight loss to some certain extent. Patients also suffer a loss of consortium, in which it affects the psychological state of the patient as well.

Early and precise diagnosis of this condition should be of utter importance since prolonged and misdiagnosed presumptions usually result in the patient making a turn for the worse. Early detection, along with a thorough examination of the abdominal area, including blood count, a full pelvic ultrasound and abdominal CT scans can usually detect the symptoms early on. But the most obvious indication that a patient has ovarian cancer is the measurement of elevated levels of the ovaries CA-125 serum level. Most patients are given a five-year survival rate in which they may or may not be able to recuperate.

Symptoms of ovarian cancer, if properly diagnosed in it’s early stages, there is a bigger chance that curing it will give the patient a higher success rate percentage of overcoming the disease. Depending on the stage and condition of the patient, including being able to detect the symptoms early on, ovarian cancer can be treated through several methods. Since the tumor usually develops on either side of the ovaries, standard medical practices require the both ovaries to be surgically removed, which is more than sufficient enough to stop it’s spread within the uterus. If in some cases that the tumour has found a way to spread prior to surgical removal, chemotherapy is a must, not a choice but a necessity in order to stave down the tumor from spreading and gaining ground.

Basis of Claiming Medical Negligence:

There are a lot of reasons to why some people who have fallen victim to this fatal disease, seek claim and reparations from doctors, specialists in their field of cancer treatment, for medical malpractice case in diagnosing the disease and treating it early on. But since most medical malpractice suit is a two-sided story, it is important to know if the doctors themselves that are treating patients with cervical cancer, have had some sort of short comings or in most cases, overlapping diagnosis which resulted in ovarian cancer misdiagnosis, carrying out the adequate method of treatment with regard to the patient’s need.

To a patient’s perspective, it is important to know 4 important points that indicate that you were not properly given the correct procedures. Most, if not all medical professionals specializing in this disease are obligated to follow this standard of running through each and every process of evaluating the patient’s current condition with the disease, including a full medical history, prior to proceeding with treating their patients. For a malpractice suit to have probable cause, a patient must prove that the doctor has had difficulty in assessing your condition. These delays on itself could be a basis of proving that the patient’s condition has become apparently worse than it was before due to the fact that proper treatment was not given on time, giving the cancer a chance to progress.

For both the doctor and the patient, prolonged delays in properly determining a growing cervical tumour gives the cancer a chance to grow and propagate, which has a very great probability of spreading throughout the body, giving rise to more complications, rendering a more difficult means of treating it. For doctors, time and early detection, along with making proper medical decisions and diagnosis is of utmost important in treatment of this disease and giving the patient a higher chance of recovery.

4 Important Points in Ovarian Cancer Treatment:

1. A Full Medical Diagnosis, Examination and Patient Medical History

Standard medical practice with regard to cancer diagnosis require doctors to carry out adequate medical examinations of their patients, which includes standard laboratory tests of specimens taken from their patients. These specimens are taken directly from a suspected tumor to determine if it is benign or otherwise. This is followed with a full physical examination, including a detailed blood test examination to determine any hormonal anomalies and unbalance in the patient’s hormones. Since the ovaries themselves produce a vast number of hormones, one particular hormonal excretion that doctors are interested in is the CA-125 (cancer antigen 125) which is predominantly higher in women suspected of having this form of cancer.

But since elevated levels of CA-125 can be caused by other underlying medical conditions, this screening test is not used for people who are not pre-disposed with this disease. That saying, is where the patients medical and family history come in by asking the patient if they ever had any family members that had this kind of cancer in their genealogy. People who are high risk with this particular disease are usually the ones that have a history of family members that have exhibited the same medical conditions ovarian cancer diagnosis, since cancer itself is a pre-disposed genetic trait that can overlap from one generation to another.

2. Referring to a Gynecological Oncologist

Oncologists specialize in determining if a tumour is indeed a cancerous growth, with that saying, cervical cancer and it’s related symptoms can be fully diagnosed and treated by a gynaecological specialist. In the early stages of detection, a doctor must refer a patient to a gynaecological specialist since these doctors are the one that know this particular form of disease. Gynaecological specialists may or may not perform the needed tasks in removing the cancer, which in most cases, they will help a specialist in removing the cancer with the proper methods and procedures of completely extracting from the patient.

The gynecological specialist is the one that will extract the first specimen and examine it, after which they will recommend the following treatments for a specific patient in relation to their medical condition which is a standard to diagnose ovarian cancer. Failure to refer a patient to a gynaecological specialist can be an adequate reason to file suit against a doctor for the reason of failing to recommend one since patients with such underlying conditions are entitled to a full diagnosis and a second opinion with regard to their medical condition.

3. Diagnostic Mistakes

This reason in itself is more than a good reason to file a suit since any misinterpreted prognosis and misdiagnosis with a patient’s medical condition could cause personal injury and loss of a loved one. Being a doctor is a highly regarded profession on which many people rely their lives on and making just one small mistake, and if a doctor fails at this point, it can result in the loss of a life and a wrongful death. That is why with regard to this disease, making a complete and detailed diagnosis of a full blood count, pelvic abdominal x-ray, including a thorough CT scan is a necessity which can not be disregarded.

Doctors must not make premature assumptions, nor must they pass it off as something being similar to another case that they have come across with since all patients have different underlying medical conditions. Every patient is entitled to a thorough examination, regardless of any medical similarities since each patient has to be uniquely screened and tested to find the most effective treatment for their condition.

4. Mistaken Diagnosis Which Results in Unnecessary Surgery

“If it ain’t broken, don’t open it” as the famous pun goes, surely you have heard a lot of similar stories that relate to patients complaining that they underwent surgical procedures, only to find out that it was not necessary in the first place. This has got to be one of the most aggravating experiences that people , being a victim of medical malpractice, have to go through when they found out that undergoing surgery was not needed at all! Most malpractice attorneys will have a hard time in defending their clients with this reason, if the courts find adequate proof of their clients fault. That is why most doctors are very keen on keeping their medical diagnostic standards as precise and sharp as their scalpels are.

For doctors being sued for malpractice, keeping their name, reputation and status as a medical professional demands every bit of attention to detail, as it could cost them their life’s work. For the patient, the anguish of going through the fear and anxiety of life and death, including the excruciating amount of cost for the medical expenses that they have to pay. All of this could have been avoided if if the attending doctor could have been more precise with their diagnosis and could have recommended an alternative method to treat the patient. But we couldn’t blame doctors for choosing surgical procedure as a primary method since this is cancer we’re talking about and removing it is the utmost importance to prevent it from spreading further.

Any law firm that specializes in defending their clients know that they must hear out the circumstances with relation to the legal suit filed against their client and if they find a probable cause of negligence, they will stay clear off the case, without hesitation because they too want to protect and preserve their reputations as lawyers. A medical malpractice attorney has to weigh in and balance the facts and truth with the client that they are defending. In most cases a medical malpractice lawyer will strongly defend their clients case, whether or not their client is at fault, because win or loose, their client still has to pay for their hourly fees.

That is why both doctors and patients need to be informed of what each side is thinking of, particularly the doctors themselves that have to be completely honest to their patients for a more better reason of wanting to cure them instead of milking them with exuberant doctor’s fees. There are free consultations and foundations, all over the world that help people in getting the required diagnosis for free that helps people fight cancer. These cancer foundations will give a patient a one-step ahead knowledge of what they can expect, that can help them get the needed information before heading off to a medical professional for adequate treatment.